Letter balance



p 30, 1952 F. D. NIE\L.SEN' 2,612,365

LETTER BALANCE Filed Dec. 4, 1951 IN V EN TOR. Freg 'e D we Iuna A i's/sen .Arroaufx Patented Sept. 30, 1952 LETTER BALANCE Fred'e Duelund Nielsen, Bodovre, Vanlose,

. Denmark Application'December 4, 1951, Serial No.f259,'781..

In Denmark January 30,1950;

"Therpresent invention relates to a letterbal- -'an'ce consisting of an elongated element, e. g, a 'paper'knifeora ruler, the body of which'isutilized as a counterweight'and is provided with securing meansfor a letter to beweighed, and withone or several bearings, about which the element is adapted to swing during Weighing, the distance between the securing means and the locations of the bearings being adjusted to the weights desired.

In known constructions of balances of this type the bearings have been formed as projections, which are adapted to rest on a firm support, e. g. a table, when using the implement as a balance. Furthermore, it has been proposed to form the bearings as holes or recesses in the implement, in which a device, e. g. an auxiliary pencil, can be inserted.

However, this must be regarded as an impractical or complicated method for using the implement as a balance. The accuracy of the balance is questionable since it depends on possible irregularities in the auxiliary device inserted in the holes. The present invention removes this disadvantage by the fact that each bearing consists of a rotatable means with two buttons situated on each end of an axis carried by the implement. Thus the implement is without further preparation always ready to be used as a balance, and is, because of the better guiding of the rotatable bearing means, considerably more sensitive than the constructions known, so that more exact weighing is obtained.

In known letter balances the letters to be weighed are secured by inserting them into recesses which are often triangular in cross-section in order to facilitate the inserting operation, However, with this arrangement it has not been possible to obtain a satisfactory securing of the letter, and furthermore the inserting operation requires comparatively great effort.

In order to avoid this disadvantage the letter balance is accordin to a preferred embodiment of the invention provided with a securing device consisting of a resilient clip with a jaw, which can be opened by a lever against spring action. The jaw and the lever are preferably formed integrally and are connected with the body of the balance by an arm.

The following is a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of a letter balance according to the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings showing the balance formed as a letter opener, and in which Fig. 1 shows a side 1 Claim. (Cl. 265-61) elevation of a letter balance according to the in vention, 'andFi'g. 2 a plan view of theletter-bal ance.

A letterb'alance l D is provided at its handleend 2 with a recess or-slot I l-adapted to receive a letter to bewei'ghed. Corresponding to-several predetermined weights; fulcra providing bear-ings are positioned at varying distances from the recess, and each bearin consists of two buttons [6, one button on each side of the knife, the buttons being connected by means of an axis 18 extending through a hole 20 in the handle of the knife and being freely rotatable in said hole.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 there is one letter-securing recess or slot and a number of bearings corresponding to the number of the weights desired, and inscriptions 22 near the bearings indicate the amount of the weight.

Preferably the letter-balance is made of plastic, so that it can be produced by mass production without after treatment.

Letters are secured to the letter balance by means of a transverse end element comprising a jaw 24 and a lever 26. The jaw 24 cooperates with a jaw on the opposite side of the slot I 4 and there are thus provided two opposed gripping jaws. In the embodiment shown the upper end of the lever is flush with the upper edge of the body of the balance, but the lever can also be extended, so that it protrudes beyond said edge in order to facilitate the opening of the securing device. When the lever is pressed towards the body of the balance the jaw 24 moves away from said body, and the letter can easily be inserted into the opening l4 and be securely clamped, as soon as the lever 26 is released. In the illustrated embodiment the lever and the jaw are integral with the body and connected with said body by means of an arm 28. As shown in Fig. 1, above the letter gripping jaws there is an enlarged opening to provide a clearance for the end of the letter inserted in the jaws to permit the letter to pivot in the jaws upon pivotal movement of the body of the balance. The slot opening inwardly from the upper edge of the balance body is also formed with an enlarged portion adjacent the arm 28 to facilitate flexing of the arm.

Preferably the upper end of the balance is straight and provided with indicia, e. g. an inch scale, whereby the balance can be used as a measuring ruler.

Only one preferred embodiment of the letter balance according to the invention has been shown, but it is to be understood that said balance can be varied in different ways within the scope of the invention. Thus e. g. the bearing can be formed in such manner, that the axis I8 is secured in the hole 20 and the buttons 16 are rotatable on the axis.

Having thus fully described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A letter balance comprising an elongated element having an upper edge and a lower edge and provided between its ends with a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse fulcra-providing means for permitting longitudinal pivoting of said element in response to the weight of letters applied to one end of said element, and letter receiving and holding means formed at said end of said element, said last-named means including a letter-receiving slot extending upwardly from said lower edge of said element and having opposed sides adapted to clampingly grip a, letter inserted in said slot, said slot tapering inwardly from said lower edge to define two opposed gripping jaws and then tapering outwardly to its greatest width to define an aperture, said gripping jaws being closer to the lower edge of said element than to the side of the aperture furthest removed from the jaws, the outer side of said slot being defined by a transverse end element extending from said lower edge to said upper edge of said elongated element and being connected thereto at substantially its midpoint by a narrow, flexible, integral arm, said transverse element defining with the upper half of said elongated element a second slot co-linear with said first slot, said slot being enlarged adjacent said integral arm, whereby movement of the upper portion of said transverse element toward said elongated element effects bending of said integral arm and separation of said jaws,

F'REDE DUELUND NIELSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,201,063 Lichtfleld Oct. 10, 1916 1,928,536 Heinlen et al Sept. 26, 1933 1,982,589 Bergstrom Nov. 27, 1934 2,507,073 White May 9, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 601,635 Great Britain May 10, 1948 

